There are many shortcomings to the standard bathroom toilet. Toilets are generally made of porcelain and are not particularly aesthetically pleasing. Also, a standard toilet has a lid that a person must bend forward to lift prior to using the toilet. This can be difficult for people suffering from back pain and can be non-hygienic. Further, it may be difficult for a person to stabilize themselves or to lower themselves from a standing position to a seated position on a standard toilet or to raise themselves from a seated position to a standing position.
Chairs for covering a standard bathroom toilet are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,051 to Gozdziewski and U.S. Pat. No. 3,716,872 to Zieman.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,051 (Godziewski) discloses a toilet seat chair that can be fixed to a standard toilet with a seat cover removed. The toilet seat chair has two integral sides and is placed over a toilet bowl and secured into place. A pair of spaced apart arm rests are undivided from the sides, along the entire length of the arms, and can be used for stability and to help a user when seating or raising his or herself. A seat of the chair is positioned over the toilet bowl and is hingedly attached such that it can be manually raised when the toilet seat is not in use and can be lowered to provide a seating surface.
This chair provides a cover for toilet bowl but does hot cover the tank therefore only partially masking the toilet. Also, the shape of the chair has a flat front which makes it more awkward for a person to position their legs to stand over the bowl of the toilet when using it and to comfortably part their legs when seated on the toilet seat chair. Further, the seat must be raised by hand which requires touching the seat and may require a person to bend over to raise the toilet seat.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,716,872 (Zieman) discloses a toilet chair that fits over a toilet and covers both a toilet bowl and toilet tank. Two sides of the chair are provided and two arms integral with the two sides along the entire length of the arms. A seating area between the two arms is located above the toilet bowl and a pair of hinged doors provide a cover that can be opened to use the toilet or closed when the toilet is not in use. The toilet chair hides both the toilet bowl and the tank to provide an arm-chair like appearance and the arms can provide support for those who require it.
Like Godziewski, the Zieman chair presents a flat front which makes it somewhat awkward or difficult for a person to position their legs to stand over the bowl of the toilet when using it. Similarly, the arm rests do not enable the person to comfortably part their legs when seated on the toilet chair. Further, the cover must also be opened by hand which may require a person to bend over to raise and lower the toilet seat and requires touching the seat.
It is therefore among the objects of the present invention to provide a chair for covering a standard bathroom toilet, allowing a person to position their legs to stand over the bowl of the toilet, to comfortably part ones legs when seated on the toilet and to allow a person to raise a toilet cover or seat without bending over or touching the cover or seat.